Felton suspended Sikes, a sophomore who averaged 12.3 minutes and 2.3 points as a freshman, indefinitely on Sept. 16 for "disciplinary reasons, mostly having to do with academic things," Felton said Wednesday.

Sikes, one of only four returning scholarship players, was expected to make a significant contribution on a team with no upperclassmen on scholarship. He was suspended last season for the LSU game on Jan. 28 in Baton Rouge, La. Felton said he couldn't remember if the reasons were similar.

"To be honest, I can't remember, but probably so," Felton said.

Hayes happy to see seniors gone

Kentucky senior forward Chuck Hayes only chuckled when asked if he was glad to see that Georgia's 2004 senior class of Rashad Wright, Jonas Hayes, Chris Daniels and Damien Wilkins had moved on. The Bulldogs beat the SEC East champion Wildcats twice last season, sweeping the season series. Wright and Daniels were the most successful Bulldogs ever against Kentucky, winning four games and twice in Rupp Arena.

"It was a heated rivalry," Hayes said. "That class Georgia had were competitors. They were about as good as anybody in the country. They were under the radar, but us being in the SEC, we knew how good they were."

Hardrick picked first-team All-SEC

After a strong freshman season at Georgia, 5-foot-6 sophomore guard Janese Hardrick was voted first-team All-SEC by the conference's coaches.

Last season, Hardrick, who is still not 100 percent after surgery on her right knee in the offseason, averaged 13.6 points and 4.6 rebounds in SEC play. She was voted second-team All-SEC and was a unanimous choice for the freshman team.

Georgia's two other starting guards from last season, juniors Alexis Kendrick and Sherill Baker, were second team selections.

The only unanimous picks for the first team were LSU's Seimone Augustus and Temeka Johnson and Mississippi State's Tan White.

Tennessee aims to be 'hunters'

On the cover of the Tennessee women's basketball media guide are a couple of striking things. One, all the players are dressed up kind of like Crocodile Dundee. Two, the words "BIG GAME HUNTERS" are splashed across the top.

Coach Pat Summitt said she didn't have anything to do with choosing the slogan, or the outfits, but she thought the theme was appropriate. That's because every non-conference game on the Lady Vols' schedule is against a team that made the NCAA tournament last year.

Add to that the SEC schedule, which features six other teams that made the field of 64, and every game will be a big game.

"Understanding who we play, on the road and our tough home schedule, I thought it was fitting," Summitt said. "We're going to have a lot of big games."

Preseason much easier this time

A year ago at this time, Mickie DeMoss and Carol Ross were still trying to place their respective stamps on their teams and their communities. DeMoss was in her first year at Kentucky and Ross was in her first season at Ole Miss.

Now, DeMoss said, she's actually able to dedicate more time to on-the-court matters.

"I'm in a much better place this year than I was at this time last year. I feel like we've laid a solid foundation," said DeMoss, who was an assistant coach at Tennessee for 18 years. "Coming in as a new coach last year, I was pulled in so many different directions, with so many off-the-court responsibilities. I had so much on my plate that I never felt like I could get settled. Leading up to this season, I feel more comfortable and I've been able to focus most of my energy on getting this team ready to play."

DeMoss said the second year is also made easier because she now knows what to expect from her players.

"Last year at this time, I really wasn't sure what exactly they could do or what they were willing to do," she said. "Now I have a much better grip on that."

This and that

Georgia sophomore guard Levi Stukes did not make his scheduled appearance Wednesday for interviews. Felton left the Bulldogs' top returning scorer at home because he had already missed too much class this semester with illness. Stukes would have missed two classes Wednesday had he attended Media Days. With Stukes gone, fellow sophomore Steve Newman was the lone Georgia player to attend. The forward was the youngest player representing any school. Nine of the 11 players were seniors. Alabama's Kennedy Winston was the lone junior.